The part where an AI created a basic game makes me hopeful for the future of game development.
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Got to get down on Friday: Best Black Friday 2024 Deals!
It's hard to describe just how wrong March 32 looks to me 
So, I haven't been gaming too much recently, but I've made a pretty decent dent into Final Fantasy XIII. I'm around 20 hours in so far and it has been a largely enjoyable experience. It has cloud saves and works on the Steam Deck so it has been nice to have the option to hop between PC and Deck as I see fit. Overall, I think FFXIII is a strong game but I can see why it's controversial.
For the good stuff, the game still looks good despite being over a decade old, and the environments are extremely diverse. The music is very strong as with most FF games, and the story and characters have been solid as well. There are issues with the story (it can be a bit hard to parse with weird fantasy jargon), but on a broad level it's entertaining and engaging. The combat is pretty solid overall, but I don't totally love it. I've never been fully sold on hybrid systems of real-time and turn-based. It's not that they are awful or anything, but I'd really just prefer full turn-based or full action combat. The middle ground is just a bit awkward for me, despite leaning towards enjoying it in the case of FFXIII.
The main drawback of the game - and one that has been well documented - is that it is extremely linear. In and of itself, I would normally be fine with this detail, but I think it amplifies weaknesses of the game due to it's structure. For example, while I largely like the combat, I don't totally love it, and because the game is so linear there is very little to break up the combat sessions (and this is especially relevant in combat-heavy sections) with stuff like exploration. Thus, the combat actually irritates more that I think it really would if I had more time to breathe a bit between encounters. It's just a bit too limiting, even for someone who has a high tolerance for very linear games, generally speaking.
All that being considered though, I am enjoying FFXIII and I do intend to complete it. As an aside, it has been interesting to play games less as I feel like it allows me to dig a little deeper into the games I do get around to. I've been chipping away at FFXIII for quite awhile now, but I feel like it has been nice to sit with a game for awhile and think on it more.
So, I haven't been gaming too much recently, but I've made a pretty decent dent into Final Fantasy XIII. I'm around 20 hours in so far and it has been a largely enjoyable experience. It has cloud saves and works on the Steam Deck so it has been nice to have the option to hop between PC and Deck as I see fit. Overall, I think FFXIII is a strong game but I can see why it's controversial.
For the good stuff, the game still looks good despite being over a decade old, and the environments are extremely diverse. The music is very strong as with most FF games, and the story and characters have been solid as well. There are issues with the story (it can be a bit hard to parse with weird fantasy jargon), but on a broad level it's entertaining and engaging. The combat is pretty solid overall, but I don't totally love it. I've never been fully sold on hybrid systems of real-time and turn-based. It's not that they are awful or anything, but I'd really just prefer full turn-based or full action combat. The middle ground is just a bit awkward for me, despite leaning towards enjoying it in the case of FFXIII.
The main drawback of the game - and one that has been well documented - is that it is extremely linear. In and of itself, I would normally be fine with this detail, but I think it amplifies weaknesses of the game due to it's structure. For example, while I largely like the combat, I don't totally love it, and because the game is so linear there is very little to break up the combat sessions (and this is especially relevant in combat-heavy sections) with stuff like exploration. Thus, the combat actually irritates more that I think it really would if I had more time to breathe a bit between encounters. It's just a bit too limiting, even for someone who has a high tolerance for very linear games, generally speaking.
All that being considered though, I am enjoying FFXIII and I do intend to complete it. As an aside, it has been interesting to play games less as I feel like it allows me to dig a little deeper into the games I do get around to. I've been chipping away at FFXIII for quite awhile now, but I feel like it has been nice to sit with a game for awhile and think on it more.
I played a bit more of Kingdom Come: Deliverance yesterday. I need to play it more, because I keep forgetting how combat works. I tried clearing a bandit camp and I couldn't even defeat a single bandit and definitely not two or more at once. I eventually managed to knock out the lookout and then all the sleeping bandits without waking any of them up, but it took quite a few tries.
ZedClampet
Community Contributor
Can't tell you how many times this (forgetting the details of a game's combat) has happened to me. I think every game needs something like Warhammer Darktide has, where at any time you can go back through the 5 minute combat tutorial and/or go to the practice area and spend as much time killing stuff as you like.
Here you go @Zloth
The key is to be the first person to play the new DLC hahaha
Kingdom Come: Deliverance does have a tutorial you can go back to (though you have to travel there in-game), but I don't want to have to redo the tutorial every time I play. Though at least you do level up your skills while training, so that's something.
ZedClampet
Community Contributor
Want to hear something ridiculous? I've played 468 hours of Super Mega Baseball 3. My record is 1044 wins and 0 losses
It's because I started at a very low difficulty and didn't change that difficulty until I was certain that I was ready to move up. I'm still below where I really should be. There are 99 difficulties, and I'm on 60, which is described as "Extreme". Most people are playing within a few points of 60 (based on what they've reported on reddit), but there is a difficulty spike between 59 and 60. I'm actually thinking of dropping back to 59 before I lose a game. I actually won 1 to 0 yesterday, which is the closest game I've ever had.
The thing is, I'm actually playing for the franchise management part of the game, so it hasn't bothered me that the AI wasn't overly competitive. Plus, what can I say? I like winning
It's because I started at a very low difficulty and didn't change that difficulty until I was certain that I was ready to move up. I'm still below where I really should be. There are 99 difficulties, and I'm on 60, which is described as "Extreme". Most people are playing within a few points of 60 (based on what they've reported on reddit), but there is a difficulty spike between 59 and 60. I'm actually thinking of dropping back to 59 before I lose a game. I actually won 1 to 0 yesterday, which is the closest game I've ever had.
The thing is, I'm actually playing for the franchise management part of the game, so it hasn't bothered me that the AI wasn't overly competitive. Plus, what can I say? I like winning
Zloth
Community Contributor
Ooooooo!!!
I'm trying to write another guide for X4: Foundations, this time covering all the starts.
Far Cry 6
So it looks like I've completed the story in Valle De Oro, the middle region.
Final boss fight was ok, some good stuff, some stupid stuff. Started promisingly with assault on a fortress-style chemical plant where the bad guys work on Viviro, their cash drug. Couple of dozen enemies around. There was no need to take on most of 'em, but where's the fun in that when you have tactical choices?
Went downhill from there, with an indoor chase thru the maze of floors and corridors to KO the Evil Doctor. Finale was Space Invaders again, defending extraction point from waves of baddies. Anyone with even a second brain cell would've picked a diff extraction point outside the baddies' compound
Earlier boss fight to KO Maria Marquesa was a bit of a nothing much, but a couple of the story missions leading up to it had good gameplay. So story mission gameplay so far is in the positive—I've done a few in the other regions too. Side quests are better gameplay tho, mainly due to more freedom re how to accomplish.
So it looks like I've completed the story in Valle De Oro, the middle region.
Final boss fight was ok, some good stuff, some stupid stuff. Started promisingly with assault on a fortress-style chemical plant where the bad guys work on Viviro, their cash drug. Couple of dozen enemies around. There was no need to take on most of 'em, but where's the fun in that when you have tactical choices?
Went downhill from there, with an indoor chase thru the maze of floors and corridors to KO the Evil Doctor. Finale was Space Invaders again, defending extraction point from waves of baddies. Anyone with even a second brain cell would've picked a diff extraction point outside the baddies' compound
Earlier boss fight to KO Maria Marquesa was a bit of a nothing much, but a couple of the story missions leading up to it had good gameplay. So story mission gameplay so far is in the positive—I've done a few in the other regions too. Side quests are better gameplay tho, mainly due to more freedom re how to accomplish.
ZedClampet
Community Contributor
ZedClampet
Community Contributor
Not my kind of game. I bought a 20 year old casino blackjack simulator. Played until it crashed. Was up $850.
First time I ever went to a casino, I lost badly at blackjack and had $80 in chips left when I decided to quit, cash out and find something to eat. The line at the cashier was long and slow, and I was tired. There was a roulette table next to the line, and I just left the line, walked up to the table and put 40 on black (or maybe it was red) and the other $40 on 18 because it was right in front of me. The dealer spun the wheel, and it didn't land on black, so I was getting off the stool to leave, when she suddenly pushed a couple stacks of chips to me. It had actually hit 18, paying out 35 to 1. I was glad to stand in the cashier's line after that.
You are so lucky, if it were me I would have lost all that money already
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